Why are cruises trashy?

[Anonymous]

I grew up in a very waspy umc family. We were not wealthy by any means but well enough off. I always got the impression from my parents and extended family that cruises are trashy. No one used that language specifically but it was one of those vacation things you could just tell people were looking down their nose at. What’s the deal with this? Are cruises trashy? Fun? Have you ever been on one, what was your take on the experience?

As I grow older, I’m starting to find that my family can be snooty about some things so I truly am asking free from any judgement. Have I had an unfairly negative perception of cruises?

[Anonymous]

There are certain lines that are definitely trashy…. Like Carnival (ick). But not all, and some are are very exclusive (Crystal, Regent). There’s a range as with anything

[Anonymous]

I grew up similarly and with the same perception.

I think upper crust WASPs like to think of themselves as ultra-refined and more knowledgeable about most things than mostly everyone else. Whether or not this is true is another conversation. Cruises aren’t “true” travel but are packaged experiences on a sort of floating Las Vegas, which is why the WASP community might see them as gauche/crass. They kind of scream “new money.” I’m not saying this is an accurate perception, but I think this is the perception.

It’s hard for me to unlearn this. My husband, from a LMC background, loves cruises shamelessly and urges me to give them a try. I just have no interest due to my snobby upbringing!

[Anonymous]

That's just ignorance. There are a wide range of cruise lines, each offering different atmospheres, itineraries, and amenities. Some cruise lines cater to a mass market audience. Those are less expensive, tend to frequent Caribbean ports, have adequate but lower quality food, younger and less affluent passengers, and can provide a relatively noisy, crowded environment. Perhaps those are the kinds of experiences your relatives are familiar with.

Mid-market lines like Princess and Holland America offer a different experience and are popular with a different kind of passenger.

There are specialty lines like Disney, and expedition lines like Llindblad, for people seeking specific kinds of experiences.

Upscale lines like Regent, Hapag-Lloyd, SilverSea, SeaDream Yacht Club, Seabourn, and the like provide a completely different experience at much higher price points. The ships are smaller and less crowded, the cuisine is outstanding, service strives to be world-class, destinations are global and more interesting, the ratio of staff to passengers is higher, and their passengers are affluent, well-travelled, and older.

You can read reviews here: https://cruisetruth.com/latest-ratings-of-worlds-top-ten-cruise-lines/

Get an additional sense of each line here: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/

[Anonymous]

Yeah I’m a WASP and would never go on a cruise.

Exception might be cruise down the Nile (best way to see pyramids) or yacht cruise around the Galapagos. Maybe a Danube River cruise, etc.

But some huge cruise ship that leaves out of Miami? No way. Tacky as hell.

[Anonymous]

Because people love those all you can eat buffets which are trashy.

[Anonymous]

I think of giant Carnival like cruise ships as floating toilets riddled with e-coli and norovirus.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Because people love those all you can eat buffets which are trashy.

Cruises are not trashy. Whoever had that idea is just wrong.

[Anonymous]

Some cruises are more upscale than others. I think it’s important to remember that sometimes things that are trashy are also very fun.

[Anonymous]

Passengers on the most expensive lines are uniformly wealthy and professionally successful - they have to be, to afford the fares. Those lines also tend to cruise to destinations of historical and cultural interest, so appeal to people whose interests are aligned accordingly. If you think they are unsophisticated proletarians, you couldn't be more wrong.

Here's an older article about one cruise line, which purports to describe that line's demographics: https://www.covingtontravel.com/2013/05/regent-seven-seas-guest-style-and-demographics/

[Anonymous]

Based on my experience, they like Hurtigruten cruises and the upper end Rhine river cruises

[Anonymous]

Too many people in too small of a space.

[Anonymous]

Cruises have changed a LOT in the last 30 years. Of course it’s more classy to stay at your home in the Hamptons. For the rest of us there are cruises at every price point.
Some are actually a better way to see things. Viking for older people. Certain cruises for kids. Alaska cruises. Don’t be a snob and miss out. BTW I have been on 3 never sick for a minute.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I grew up similarly and with the same perception.

I think upper crust WASPs like to think of themselves as ultra-refined and more knowledgeable about most things than mostly everyone else. Whether or not this is true is another conversation. Cruises aren’t “true” travel but are packaged experiences on a sort of floating Las Vegas, which is why the WASP community might see them as gauche/crass. They kind of scream “new money.” I’m not saying this is an accurate perception, but I think this is the perception.

It’s hard for me to unlearn this. My husband, from a LMC background, loves cruises shamelessly and urges me to give them a try. I just have no interest due to my snobby upbringing!

OP here. This is very close to my experience. Cruises, Disney, Vegas, the list goes on. DH grew up lmc and he once suggested a cruise. I shut it down immediately but I do wonder if this was perhaps a knee jerk reaction based on my upbringing. A poster above did bring up taking a small cruise down the nile or something similar and I will say I don’t have the same immediate negative reaction to that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Too many people in too small of a space.

We went on the Freedom of the Seas. It’s huge. Not crowded.